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The Elephanta Caves

The Elephanta Caves , located on Elephanta Island, or Gharapuri, about 11 Km off the coast of the Gateway of India, Mumbai, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A visit to these caves, excavated probably in the 6 th century CE, is awe-inspiring, and also thought-provoking. Over the years, I have visited the caves a number of times, and also attended a number of talks by experts in the fields of art, history and archaeology on the caves. Together, they help me understand these caves, their art, and the people they were created for, just a little bit better. Every new visit, every new talk, every new article I read about the caves, fleshes out the image of what the island and the caves would have been like, at their peak. I last wrote about the caves on this blog, in 2011, almost exactly 11 years ago. Since then, my understanding of the caves has, I would like to think, marginally improved. Hence this attempt to write a new and updated post, trying to bring to life, the caves of Elephan
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Brahminy Starling

It looked just like a myna from a distance. However, there was something different about it. It took some time for me to realise that we were seeing a Brahminy Myna or Brahminy Starling.






It has a sort of a crest and black cap which distinguishes it from our usual myna. Besides, the bill is yellow with a bluish base, which also makes it look different. In fact, once we saw these a couple of times, I began wondering how I had mistaken it for the common myna in the first place!!!










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  1. Bhavesh ChhatbarAugust 5, 2011 at 5:58 PM

    You reminded me of my visit to Chaitanya Dham [AKA Prati Pandharpur] where I saw Brahminy Starling parents. If you remember, I published the photos on my blog [see Brahminy
    Starling]. You asked where the place is. Did you manage to go there? It's beautiful!

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  2. Anu ShankarAugust 5, 2011 at 7:29 PM

    No, Bhavesh! have yet to make that long delayed trip to Pune and around ! the time doesnt seem to come!!! I remember seeing your Brahminy starling pics! they are certainly much better than mine :)

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